Nikola
by one two buckle my shoe
Summary: In one day, Kate and McGee find out not one, but two of Tony's secrets, and they couldn't be more shocked
1. Chapter 1

Hey, my name is One-Two (Buckle-My-Shoe) and this is my first NCIS story. I hope that you all enjoy and please leave me a review. Thanks so much. One-Two. Also, in this story, Twilight happened but Kate didn't die and Ziva never came. And I am very sorry if I get some navy terms wrong because I really don't know anything about the navy.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS in any way

Chapter One:

It was a normal day in NCIS headquarters, definitely no different from any other day. Tony was busy at the moment playing yet another video game while Kate and McGee were both hard at work doing the tasks that Gibbs had assigned them.

"Tony, are you winning?" Gibbs asked as he came up behind the younger man and looked at him with a mixed look of amusement and pure anger. Mostly pure anger.

"Yeah, boss," Tony replied, wondering silently what evil plot Gibbs was planning for catching him on his computer playing.

"Good," Gibbs said as he reached down and unplugged the computer leaving Tony gaping and McGee and Kate trying to stifle their laughter. "Now, who has something for me?" he asked.

Kate and McGee both looked at one another for a moment before they sighed and admitted that they had yet to find anything.

"Victim's name is Seaman Hendrix Johansen, twenty two years old and he was currently living in a classy little apartment in D.C with his wife, Amelia Johansen and their eight month old daughter, Sam. He's been in the navy for three years and is related to, that's right, Elvis Presley on his mother's side."

Kate and McGee looked at Tony. Two hours they had been at work trying to find out who their victim was and Tony had spent the time playing video games and had found it before them. How was it possible for him to keep doing this?

"Elvis, really?" Gibbs asked, his tone proving that he really wasn't interested at all about the relations.

"Yeah, pretty awesome, huh?" Tony smiled as he plugged his computer back in and leaned back in his chair while he waited for it to start. "Anyways, wife reported him missing three days ago, apparently he has been home for about a month and wasn't supposed to be going anywhere again for two more months and then he just drops out of sight. I have her coming here in half an hour to identify the body and to talk to us."

Gibbs smiled slightly at his young agent. Although he didn't show it much, he was very proud of Tony. Tony was truly like his son, and Gibbs loved him like a son. He only wished sometimes that Tony would let Kate and McGee see the real Tony instead of the mask that he painted for them to make them like him more. "Good job, Tony," He turned to Kate and McGee. "Back to work,"

"Mrs. Johansen, I know how hard this must be for you, but if you could just answer a few questions then you might be able to help us find who did this to your husband."

Amelia Johansen was sitting in the squad room in a chair sitting between Tony's desk and Kate's desk. Although they were all listening, Gibbs had selected Tony to be the actual one talking to her, and he sat in front of her in his own chair.

Amelia looked up at him with tear filled, red rimmed eyes. "How could you possibly know how I feel?" she asked.

Tony stiffened for only a moment before softly replying, "My wife died six years ago," He let the words sink in and a look of understanding cross her face.

"I'm sorry," she said, "It's just, we have a young daughter and…" She breathed in deeply. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do."

Tony reached forward and held her hand comfortingly. "Right now, the best thing that you can do would be to help us find whoever did this to Hendrix…."

"Henry," Amelia sniffed, "He hated his full name,"

Tony smiled, "Help us find who did this to Henry. I know that it won't make the pain go away, but it will help."

Amelia nodded. "I will do whatever you want if it will help you bring Henry's killer to justice." She drew in a deep breath bravely. "What do you need?"

Tony smiled. "Can you think of anyone who may want to have hurt your husband? Any threats that he got recently, anything like that?" Tony asked gently.

"No, nothing," she thought for a moment, "Well, there was…. but, no…."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Mrs. Johansen, you have to tell me." He said.

She sighed, "It's so embarrassing," She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said, "My ex-boyfriend went to Henry when I was about six months pregnant and told Henry that Sam was actually his, _and she ISN'T_, you know, just to get back at me for leaving him for Henry. Well, Henry didn't believe him anyway, but it's always been touch-and-go, you know? Whenever Henry would run into my ex he would come home or call really angry and tell me how much he loves me. I don't want to think about it, but my ex, he had a temper."

Tony sighed, "What's his name?" he asked.

"Seaman Ronald Rodriguez."

"Okay, team, good job today." Gibbs said at six o'clock. About an hour after Mrs. Johansen had told them the name they went to talk to Seaman Rodriguez and he had just openly admitted it. With paperwork to do, they had been silent the rest of the day. He pretended not to notice Kate and McGee looking at Tony every ten minutes no doubt wanting to ask him if what he had said about being married was true. Before he could say anything else, Tony's telephone rang and he waited as Tony picked it up.

"Agent DiNozzo," he said. He listened for a moment before smiling. "Hey, honey, how was your day?...That's good, I got to arrest a bad guy today, it was real fun….Yeah, I'll be home soon, I was going to pick up some Chinese and some movies, any suggestions?...Okay, that's a good idea, why didn't I think of that…..Very funny, Nikola……Yeah, I'll see you soon…..Love you too. Bye."

Tony looked up after his phone call at the two shocked faces of Kate and McGee and the smiling face of Gibbs.

When Kate's voice came back, she blinked and then grinned. "A girlfriend, DiNozzo, sounds serious."

Tony grinned as he gathered a few files from his desk and put on his jacket and started to leave before deciding to let down the mask a little. He turned back to look at Kate, "Not a girlfriend, Katie, a daughter." Kate and McGee's eyes both widened. "See you tomorrow, Probie." Tony called as he made his way to the elevator leaving Gibbs smiling in his wake as he stared at his two utterly shocked agents. He laughed before calling after Tony.

"You and Nikki want company tonight, DiNozzo?" He asked grabbing his own jacket and making his way over to Tony.

Tony smiled. "Of course," he said as they got into the elevator together. "I hope you like James Bond."

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Hey, I hope that you liked the first chapter. Please let me know if you want me to continue and what you think of it. Thanks a lot, One-Two.


	2. Chapter 2

Hey, thank you for the reviews I really appreciate it. Hope you enjoy and please review this chapter too. One-Two

Chapter Two:

The next morning, both Kate and McGee came in early, desperate to find out what was going on with Tony. He had a wife who died? And a daughter? Suddenly everything that they knew about Tony seemed almost shot to hell. As time ticked on, though, Tony, who was usually the first to arrive, still hadn't, and when Gibbs arrived and sat down, not even blinking at Tony's empty desk, Kate couldn't help but say something.

"What on earth is going on?"

Gibbs looked up at her surprised.

"What is the story on Tony, seeing as apparently we know NOTHING!"

Gibbs sighed and smiled. "Look, it's not a big deal. Tony isn't coming in today because his daughter is sick and he wants to take care of her."

"Okay," Kate breathed in deeply. "Since when does Tony have a daughter?"

Gibbs, realizing that she wouldn't stop until he explained, decided that that was probably the best idea.

"Listen, the story of Tony DiNozzo is a little long and complicated, so I don't want to…" he started before Kate cut him off.

"So complicate us," She said, ignoring McGee's mutter of 'that doesn't make any sense, Kate' and sticking to her odd, incomprehensible word choice.

Gibbs sighed; he knew that they deserved to know. Tony didn't have to tell that Marine wife that he himself had lost a wife, and he hadn't had to tell Kate that he had a daughter, he chose to and he must have known that they would want to know what was going on.

"Alright," he said, "So, first I will mention that Tony had a twin sister named Katalina. She was his life, he loved her so much, and when they were seventeen she announced that she had gotten pregnant by her ex-boyfriend. Tony, of course, told her that he would help her take care of the baby. Unfortunately, when Katalina was giving birth complications arose and she didn't make it. Tony took the little girl and he named her Katalina Nikola DiNozzo, Katalina being his sister's name and Nikola his mother's name. He formally adopted her a week later and has raised her as his daughter. I don't know when exactly, but Tony decided that calling her Katalina made him sad, so she has always gone by her middle name Nikola informally, or Nikki. When he was twenty he met this really nice girl named Alexandria and they were married two years later. Six years ago, when Tony was twenty seven, Alexandria was killed in a car accident. Unlike what he would like you to believe, Tony barely ever goes on dates as he spends all of his time either here or with Nikola. You wonder how he manages to get work done while actually not working at all, it's because after Nikola goes to bed he comes back here and works until about three or four a.m. before he goes back home to sleep for a few hours, see Nikki off to school and come right back here."

When he finally found his voice again, McGee said, "So that would make Nikki, what, fifteen?" he asked.

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, she turned fifteen eleven months ago, she's almost sixteen and of course reminding Tony every chance she gets that it would be really nice to have a nice car for her sweet sixteen."

"I cannot believe this," Kate said. She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, "No, that can't be right, I mean, you'd think that he would have slipped up and mentioned her at one point. This is way to surreal to be true, did you and DiNozzo come up with this last night after work or something?"

Gibbs' eyes widened, "No, of course not." He said, "You actually think that I'm making this up?"

Kate didn't know what to think, actually. Her head was telling her that she was acting ridiculous, and yet she just couldn't believe this about Tony DiNozzo, the man who lived to annoy her. This was _way _too surreal.

"Why did he keep all of this a secret from us?" McGee asked, "That's what I don't understand."

Gibbs sighed, "This isn't exactly a good place to talk about this," he said.

"This is the perfect place," Kate replied.

Gibbs was a little shocked by Kate's forcefulness; he had never seen her like this before. "I am not completely sure why he didn't. I can tell you that when Tony was growing up, his father treated him worse than crap. He told Tony that he was worthless countless times a day, and it was really hard on him psychologically. In the back of his head, he thinks that he has to create a persona to make you like him."

Kate quirked an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest, "And that's the persona he chose?"

Gibbs glared, "I don't appreciate your sarcasm. To be perfectly honest, I was completely surprised that Tony told you about Nikki, he works very hard to get you to believe his fake personality."

"So everything that we know about Tony is false?" McGee asked.

Gibbs laughed, "No, McGee, it's not. The fact that he goes out a lot with lots of women is wrong. Most of what he says is really what he wants to say, not the role that he plays. It's just a few select things that are different. Now that you know about it, Tony will more than likely start removing the mask some more. He has to be completely comfortable to let you in, and the fact that he decided to let you in at all is good for you."

Kate sighed and exchanged a look with McGee. Neither of them was really sure whether or not it would be a good idea to keep questioning Gibbs as his fuse seemed to be getting shorter. "Why now?"

Gibbs sighed, "I just told you, Kate, he trusts you, and now that he trusts you he will let you in."

Kate thought about that for a moment. "So does that mean that Abby and Ducky know? I mean, he trusts them doesn't he?"

Gibbs smiled. "Before you came here, we all were a family the four of us. Nikki knows all of us, from her Aunt Abby, her Grandpa Gibbs and her Great Grandpa Ducky, which by the way he doesn't like that very much, he would prefer to be Grandpa like me, but, well, you can't have it all." He laughed.

Kate and McGee were now really shocked. "She calls you _Grandpa_?" McGee asked exasperatedly.

Gibbs nodded, "I'm the closest thing to a grandfather that she's ever had."

Kate nodded numbly. She was still in a state of shock. The last two days were almost like a twilight zone. "I think I need a nap," She sighed, leaning back in her chair. She knew what she was going to do. After work tonight, she was going over to Tony's.

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So there is the second chapter. Please let me know what you think of it and the next chapter will be up soon. Thanks, One-Two.


	3. Chapter 3

Hey, once again thank you for all of the wonderful reviews, you guys make my days so much nicer! On to the next chapter, I hope that you like. Lots of laughs, One-Two

Chapter Three:

Kate wasn't really sure why she was standing on the steps of Tony's house that night. She could see the faint glare of the T.V. screen through the closed drapes and she knew that they were probably watching a movie or something. The last two days, though, had been really weird for her. First, finding out about Nikola and Alexandria had been tough, and then hearing the whole amazing story about Tony's background. When Gibbs had brought up Tony's father had been a tough one, too. The way Gibbs talked about Tony's father; you would think that he was Satan. Then again, Tony had once told her that he had been kicked out of the house for choosing not to go to Harvard when he was sixteen, and what kind of man would do that to his son but a completely evil one?

Kate was now sitting on the steps just looking in at the faint glow coming from the inside of the house. If something ever happened to Tony, what would happen to Nikola, she had no other family other than Tony's supposedly hard-ass father.

She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't even realize when the door opened and closed and she shook her head and looked up into the shocked face of her co-worker.

Tony blinked, completely shocked at his friend sitting there on his porch. He didn't say anything; he just sat down next to her and looked forward, not really at anything, just forward.

"Gibbs told you guys everything, huh?" Tony asked, finally breaking the silence. "Is that why you are here?"

Kate looked down at the ground. She wasn't really sure what to say.

"Do you want to meet her?" Tony asked, realizing that she wasn't about to comment.

Kate looked at him.

"Why are you out here?" she asked.

Tony smiled, "I was going to run to the store for ice cream, we ran out in the middle of Die Another Day."

She nodded, "James Bond?" she asked rubbing her cold arms.

Tony smiled, slipping his jacket off and putting it around her shoulders. "You know it."

Kate sighed. "I would like to meet her." She said.

Tony smiled and began to get up before Kate pulled him back down. "Why did you keep all of this a secret from us?"

"Everything is a secret, Kate," Tony replied, "In case you've never noticed, I'm pro at undercover work, and that is because all my life has been one big secret. I was trained that way by my father."

"Well, I think that he was wrong to treat you like he did," Kate said.

Tony smiled slightly. "My father is a very powerful man; he wanted me and Katalina to be that way, too. We didn't want it. I wanted to be a cop and Lina wanted to teach kindergarten."

Kate grinned. "How did you afford college and a baby when you were so young?"

Tony smiled, "The key was, I didn't eat a lot, and what I did eat was those dried noodles that you add hot water too, you know? Couldn't afford to buy myself a lot of food, I had to ration it; babies need lots of care, and lots of money. I had a babysitter for Nikki and I worked a full time night job, attended classes in the day. I pretty much went for four years without sleeping."

"I think that you would be a great dad."

"Well, I like to think that I am. Not too strict, not too lenient. Nikki is my best friend, and I am hers. We've been through a lot together."

"Yeah, I suppose so." She thought for a moment. "We have a really dangerous job, if something were to happen to you, where would she go?"

Tony smiled. "Well, as it is set in my will, if I die custody would go to Gibbs, if he dies custody would go to Abby, then Ducky, then you and then McGee."

"Me and McGee?" Kate asked with a smile. "But what if something happened to McGee?"

"Kate, if all six of us die in the two years before she turns eighteen then she'll probably need a mental hospital not a guardian." Tony laughed.

Kate smiled despite herself, "Yeah, I guess so."

Tony stood up and offered Kate his hand, which she took, smiling. He pulled her up and led her into the house.

The first thing that Kate noticed was how nice it was. The second thing that she noticed was a figure on a couch in the living room to the left flipping through a magazine because her movie was on pause. She smiled: it was on pause because they ran out of ice cream.

"You're back quick," The girl said from the couch, not looking up.

Tony frowned as he took his coat from Kate and hung it on the coat rack, leading her into the living room.

"You need to pay better attention, I could have…."

"I know, I know," Nikola said, turning around. "You could have been a burglar." Seeing Kate, Nikola quickly stood allowing Kate a good look at the girl.

She looked a lot like Tony, but Kate guessed that was normal seeing as Tony is her biological uncle and Nikola's mother was Tony's twin. She had the same skin tone and green eyes as Tony but she had long, flowing, natural dark blonde hair and was just maybe five foot three inches tall.

"Dad, who is this?" Nikola asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Nikk, honey, this is Kate Todd, from work."

Nikki's eyes suddenly got that tinge in them that Tony's always got when he got excited about something. She smiled big and reached forward to shake hands with Kate before pulling it back and shrugging, showing Kate the tissue that she had in her hand.

"Kate, it is so good to meet you, I've heard a lot about you." She said.

Kate smiled; already it was clear that Nikola had that same infectious humour of her father's/uncles, how did that work anyway? She called him dad, probably because he's raised her adopted her, Kate would guess.

"It's really nice to meet you, too, Nikola," Kate smiled.

Nikki smiled at her dad for a moment before clearing her throat, "You know what, I'm actually just going to go to bed, we can finish the movie tomorrow, okay, daddy?"

Tony looked shocked, "No Nikk, we'll finish it tonight, you can't be that tired." He pleaded. "Come on, stay up for daddy, you know you want to."

Nikki smiled, "Alright," she laughed, "I suppose that I can," she smiled, "I just need to go to the bathroom, I will be back."

"You'd better or I'll come and drag you out of your bed!" Tony called after her retreating figure, causing her to laugh.

Kate smiled, "So, there is one thing that I want to ask you. When did you tell Gibbs about Nikki and Alexandria? And how long has she called them Grandpa, Great Grandpa and Aunty."

Tony smiled, "Well, you see Kate, here's how that happened…"

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So there is chapter three, sorry it took so long, the next one should be up very soon. Next chapter, you'll find out how Gibbs found out about Nikki and Alexandria. Please review and let me know what you think.


	4. Chapter 4

Once again, I really thank all of you who read and/or reviewed the last chapter. You keep me writing and I hope that you will like and review this chapter as well. Peace, One-Two.

Chapter Four:

Four years earlier:

Gibbs sighed. Only a month ago he had hired a detective from Baltimore, mostly on a whim, but a little bit because he noticed the talent and abilities that the detective's bosses seemed to overlook. He had to admit that the kid, named Anthony 'Tony' DiNozzo, had yet to let him down. He was quick as a wink and knew what he was doing. For Gibbs, he had never met anyone that he learned to trust completely like Tony. After almost a week, Gibbs was not only feeling like he could trust the younger agent with anything, but also feeling a little fatherly affection that seemed weird to him.

Tony was currently sitting at his desk diagonal to Gibbs' own reading something. Gibbs wasn't sure how he did it, but Tony always managed to get things done while barely even trying when it came to accessing information. Not to mention the young agent's seemingly photographic memory. There was something about Tony, though, something that Gibbs couldn't quite put his finger on. Every once in a while when he thought that Gibbs wasn't looking, Tony would pull out a framed picture from his desk and would just stare at it with sad eyes. Gibbs had once gone to find the picture only to find that Tony kept that particular drawer locked. So for now, Gibbs wasn't sure who was in that picture.

The phone brought Gibbs back to his senses as he reached forwards to pick it up.

"Gibbs," he said.

"Special Agent Gibbs, this is Gunnery Sergeant Henders, we have a body."

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"So, it all started with, 'we have a body'?" Kate asked skeptically, looking at Tony with unsure eyes.

Tony sighed and gave her a little push on the shoulder, jokingly. "Would you let me finish, I've barely even started."

"Sorry, it just better get good soon or I might fall asleep." Kate huffed, leaning back into the couch cushions.

"As long as you don't drool over all of my nice pillows," Tony laughed.

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"Was the body moved?" Gibbs asked, eyeing the park around them before setting his eyes once again on the male marine laying dead on the grass. There were trees all around and a pond close by; it was really a beautiful spot.

"Of course not, Agent Gibbs," Gunnery Sergeant Henders replied, annoyed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Standard question, Sergeant," Tony smiled, clapping Henders on the back, "No need to be offended."

Henders smiled a little at the young agent and his stance relaxed right away. Gibbs smiled, that was Tony- he always seemed to be able to calm people down.

"So, I'm assuming that we have no witnesses?" Gibbs said dryly as Tony started to take pictures of the body with his camera.

"No, Agent Gibbs, none that have come forward as of yet," Henders replied as he watched the guys do their jobs.

It was a second later when Tony noticed a small flash in the trees, and the yell to take cover barely left his mouth before he felt a sting in his stomach, followed by two more and he fell to the ground.

Gibbs, upon hearing Tony's cry of cover, had immediately jumped to the ground, and his eyes widened as he saw Tony get gunned down by three bullets. Gunnery Sergeant Henders pulled out his gun and in seconds the gunman was lying, bleeding, on the ground in the trees. But that was not what Gibbs was worried about, he was worried about his agent lying, bleeding, and rushed over to him, pulling off his jacket and pressing it against Tony's stomach in an attempt to stop the blood.

Tony gulped as he looked up at Gibbs. "You need to…" Tony sputtered, trying to remain conscious as Ducky ran over to them.

"Anthony, an ambulance is on its way, try not to talk, alright," Ducky said, taking over from Gibbs.

Tony shook his head, "No, Gibbs, you need…" he drew in a deep breath, "You need to go to my house…" he gulped, "You need to take care of…everything."

Gibbs furrowed his brow, "Of course, Tony," he said, not really sure what the young man meant but wanting to keep him calm.

"Please," Tony said, before he closed his eyes.

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"You were shot three times at once!" Kate shrieked, "Oh my God!" she held her hand firmly covering her mouth in shock.

"Yeah, that was probably one of the shittiest things work-wise to ever happen to me, second only to, well, you know the plague," Tony nodded. "Now would you let me finish?"

"Oh, right, sorry," Kate replied, "Continue. At least I know that this story can't possibly end with you dying."

"Ah, Kate, you ruined the ending."

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"He said that I needed to go to his house and take care of everything." Gibbs said with a furrowed brow. He, Ducky, and Abby were in the waiting room at the hospital. Tony had been rushed to surgery almost as soon as he got here, having flat lined three times in the ambulance. Ducky said that they would be lucky if Tony didn't end up with severe heart damage if he did survive. Unfortunately, Tony's father had refused to consent to surgery when Gibbs had called him. Gibbs had a few choice words for the man who said 'what do I care if he dies, I'm not going to sign anything'. If Tony weren't dying, then Gibbs would find DiNozzo Sr. and beat the living crap out of him. In the end Gibbs had forged DiNozzo Sr.'s signature and Tony had been rushed into surgery. That was five hours ago.

"What did he mean by everything?" Abby asked, wiping away the tears from her face.

Gibbs sighed and shook his head. "I don't know, as much as I want to be here when he gets out of surgery, I have a feeling he would want me to do as he asked, you know?"

Ducky nodded. "We will call you the second we know anything."

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"You're father actually said that?" Kate asked, dumbfounded.

"Yeah, the guy doesn't care if I live or die. After this all happened Gibbs made me change him to my emergency contact and Next of Kin." Tony replied with a smile.

"Gibbs is your next of kin?" Kate asked.

"I just said that didn't I?"

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Gibbs was a little unsure when he got to Tony's house. A) why did Tony need a huge house just for himself and B) what was he supposed to do, knock?

Feeling like an idiot, Gibbs rapped on the door, and was more then surprised when it opened to reveal a young, around ten or eleven, year old blonde haired little girl.

She frowned, "Who are you?" she asked, looking at him sceptically.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs…" Gibbs started, beginning to think that he had the wrong house.

"Oh, I'm Katalina DiNozzo, you can call me Nikki," she said with a smile, "You work with my daddy."

Gibbs stared at her wide eyed. This little girl was Tony's daughter. No way! He gaped at her, before smiling. "Honey, your daddy has been hurt, you have to come with me."

Her eyes widened and tears started welling up. "Is he okay?" she squeaked.

Gibbs reached forward and the little girl took his hand. "Let's go see,"

Suddenly what Tony had asked him made sense. He needed someone to find Nikki if he was in the hospital since no one at work knew about her, and when he asked Gibbs to take care of everything, that everything was Nikki. Tony asked Gibbs to take care of his little girl if he died. Gibbs sighed. He was not about to lose Tony, but if he did then as sure as he was standing here he would take care of that little girl.

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Okay, guys that is chapter 4. The next chapter will be the continuation of the story about how Gibbs, Abby and Ducky found out about Nikki. Please review, One-Two.


	5. Chapter 5

Wow, you guys are seriously awesome in the reviews department; I must say they always put a big smile on my face. . So, this chapter here is sort of like the part two of the last chapter, it's the continuation of how Abby, Ducky and Gibbs found out about Tony's daughter Nikola. **And for the reviewer who was concerned about Nikki opening the door, she did have a babysitter there so she wasn't alone. I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. **Please review this chapter and let me know what you think, it is always much appreciated. Peace, One-Two

Chapter Five:

Still Four Years Ago:

"Okay, honey, you just sit down right there, I'm going to talk to my co-workers, okay?" Gibbs smiled lightly at little Nikki and gestured towards the chairs in the waiting room. Nikki made her way to sit down as Ducky and Abby, dumbfounded, got up and came to meet Gibbs in the hall.

"Who's the kid?" Abby asked.

Gibbs chuckled, "The kid is Katalina Nikola DiNozzo, aka Nikki DiNozzo. She is what I found when I went to Tony's house." Gibbs said, looking past her and his eyes softening when he saw Nikki sitting there, lightly crying, almost as if she were trying to hold it in and be brave.

Abby and Ducky both gasped before turning to once again look at the girl. Abby tilted her head, "She does kind of look like him." She said.

"So that would explain why Tony asked you to go to his house." Ducky added as they turned back to look at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded, "He's taught her well, too. I told her who I was, but as soon as I suggested her coming with me here, she asked to see my badge and then went into the house and got a flashlight, making sure that it wasn't a fake. Apparently Tony taught her all sorts of ways to tell if a badge is a fake. It wasn't until she had inspected it five different ways that she believed what I was telling her and came." He smiled, "Her babysitter, though, wasn't all big on her leaving without Tony's permission. I ended up having to tell Nikki to go outside while I told the babysitter that Tony did ask me to come and that he couldn't really say anything anyways in the condition he's in."

"Poor girl," Abby sighed.

"I must say that Katalina looks almost too old to be Anthony's. He must have had her very young." Ducky decided and his two friends nodded. "I wonder where her mother is."

Gibbs nodded, before looking over at the girl once again. "She certainly reminds me of Tony. She told me how much Tony hated the hospital on the way here and that someone that he knows well would have to be in the room with him when he wakes up or he would have a panic attack. I asked her why, but she wouldn't tell me. All she said was that her daddy was scared to death of hospitals."

"I didn't realize that Tony was scared of hospitals," Abby said.

"Ah, yes, I believe that Anthony has mentioned that to me before." Ducky nodded. At the bewildered faces on Gibbs and Abby he explained, "Two weeks ago, do you remember when you and Tony went to apprehend the suspect and he ended up tying you both up and then beating Tony mercifully? All that happened was that he came down to the morgue and I looked him over, however, his ribs were badly bruised and I had suspicions that they might have been slightly fractured and I told him to go to the hospital. He turned white as a ghost as soon as I suggested it and then was out the door as quick as he could in his condition."

Gibbs nodded, "Afraid of hospital is there a phobia name for that?"

"Nosocomephobia, I think," Abby said.

"Hmm," Gibbs said, not taking his eyes off of the distraught young girl sitting in the waiting room.

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"You're afraid of hospitals?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Deathly afraid of hospitals," Tony replied.

"Why?" Kate asked.

Tony furrowed his brow, "Why does it matter? Now on with the story."

Kate sighed.

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Gibbs, Abby and Ducky returned to the waiting room to sit with Nikki. It was incredibly quiet, no one saying a word. A few moments later, the doors opened and there stood Tony's surgeon, covered in blood.

"Agent Gibbs?" he said.

They all looked up; preparing themselves for whatever news was to come their way.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm sorry to say that though Agent DiNozzo miraculously made it through surgery, he fell into a coma. Now he could come out of it in an hour, and he could come out of it in years or he could never come out of it. I'm sorry to say that we cannot tell whether or not he will. He is in the Intensive Care Unit if you would all like to go and see him." He eyed Nikki for a moment before asking, "And you are, young lady?"

Nikki sniffed, looking up at the doctor. "My name is Nikola DiNozzo, that's my daddy you're talking about."

The doctor's face softened, "I'm sorry sweetheart."

Gibbs stood and took Nikki's hand in his as the four walked towards the elevator to take them to the ICU. The elevator ride seemed to last forever and the only thing that Gibbs could think about was why Tony had told Gibbs that he should be the one taking care of Nikki did Tony die. He squeezed the girl's hand reassuringly as the doors opened and they found his room. Nikki ran to his bed and climbed up with him, laying next to him with her head on his shoulder and her arm across his waist gently and the three adults all took seats in the chairs next to the bed.

"You'll need to be careful, honey," Gibbs said to Nikki, "You don't want to hurt him."

Nikki nodded. "I know; I do this every time."

Gibbs frowned, "Every time what?"

"Every time he gets shot or stabbed or drugged and beaten up." Nikki replied, closing her eyes.

Gibbs, Abby and Ducky exchanged worried glances.

"He tells me that it's always okay because he's a fighter and has always been a fighter. My mom would always get so worried about him, but he would tell her that he's a fighter and she would just smile and tell him that she loves him and make him promise to come home that night unscathed." Nikki said with a sigh. "He's never been in a coma before, though."

Gibbs sighed. "Where is your mother?" he asked.

"They're both dead." Nikki replied. "My dad is actually my uncle; my real mother was his sister. She died giving birth to me when they were eighteen. My dad has taken care of me ever since and he married who I call my mom when he was twenty two, she died two years ago in a car crash."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Abby whispered.

"I miss my mom, but me and dad, just us, has been nice, too." Nikki said with a sigh. "He'll wake up soon, so we have to stay with him." Nikki said.

"How do you know?" Gibbs asked gently.

"I just know that's all." Nikki replied, "He promised me that he would come home tonight unscathed just like he always did with mom. He promised that he would see me tonight, he never breaks a promise. Not ever." She said.

Ducky sighed. "Katalina, I'm afraid that it's a little bit more complicated then that when it comes to your father's condition…"

"Don't say that," Nikki said. "You'll see."

The time went by, nobody talking, everyone just sitting with their own thoughts about their new co-worker. Gibbs was thinking about how Tony had asked him to take care of Nikki, about Tony's father and about the unknown picture that Gibbs now assumed was one of three people, his wife, his daughter or his sister. Abby, with tears in her eyes, was thinking about the poor little girl and what would happen to her if Tony didn't wake up. Ducky was thinking about what Tony's chances were and hating his medical knowledge at this moment because he would rather not know how small a chance of survival Tony had and Nikki…

Well, Nikki was like a little ray of hope and sunshine. She didn't speak to them, but they could see her whispering things to Tony and they couldn't help but hope that he could hear her. She seemed to believe with all that she had that he would wake up any moment, apparently just like he had done all of those other times. But, as she herself had said, he had never been in a coma before.

_TTT_

_T TT_

Four weeks later, Tony still hadn't awoken from his coma. Nikki was living with Gibbs for the moment, just like Gibbs had promised, and everyone was now starting to get worried about whether or not Tony would wake up. Gibbs hadn't been prepared to take care of a child the day Tony had gotten shot, and even after a month, he found that he just couldn't expect anything that Nikki did.

Just as her father, Nikki loved to watch movies and she would tell him all the time about her and Tony's James Bond marathons. Gibbs tucked Nikki into bed at night and they made dinner together every night (just like she and Tony used to) and he was slowly getting used to the little girl. Nikki, however, was having a little bit harder of a time.

She adored Gibbs, he knew, but at night once he's tucked her in he can hear her cry and he listens from the door as she prays for the safety of Abby, Ducky, and Gibbs and for her daddy to wake up. He always feels pained to hear the young girls' cries, but he knows that there is nothing that he can do about it. Were he a more sociable person, maybe he would be able to talk to her about it, but he has never once been able to bring himself to do that.

It had been five weeks since Tony had gotten shot when Nikki and Gibbs were sitting eating pasta (made by Nikki only as it was a recipe known only by her and Tony and she didn't want anyone else to know it) silently at the kitchen table in Gibbs' house.

"If daddy dies, would I have to go and live with…" Nikki gulped, "_Him?_" she asked.

Gibbs frowned, "Who is him?" he asked.

Nikki looked up at him with wide eyes. "Daddy's _father_," she replied with a scared look in her eye.

Gibbs remembered all too well talking to DiNozzo Sr. on the phone and it was clear that Nikki hadn't had very good experiences with the man either. "No, of course not. But why would you not want to live with him?" Gibbs couldn't help but be curious about the relationship between the three DiNozzo's.

"_He_'s really mean," Nikki said, "Daddy doesn't like to talk about _him_, but whenever _he_ calls daddy always ends up really pale and very upset. _He _is the meanest person alive, that's what daddy says." She said, "Daddy says I'll never have to meet _him; _that I'll never have to worry about _him_."

Gibbs nodded. "Well, you're daddy would never lie to you." He said, "Do you have any other family?"

Nikki shook her head. "No, just daddy and _him_."

The way Nikki always said _him_ was a little unsettling for Gibbs and he wondered just what Tony's childhood had been like. "Well, I promise, you will stay here with me, okay?" Gibbs said.

Nikki smiled. "Okay," she said.

Gibbs smiled. He hoped that Tony would wake up soon because he really wasn't sure if he would be able to keep Nikki without legal paperwork. A shiver ran up Gibbs' spine as he realized that Nikki may end up in foster care….

Or worse: with Tony's father.

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Hey, thanks for reading, I know that this chapter took forever to get up, but it is pretty long and I've had exams to study for so sorry. The next chapter (part three of how Abby Gibbs and Ducky met Nikki) will be up shortly. Thanks a lot and please review!!! Peace, One-Two


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